James Anderson insists Australia will gain no Ashes advantage from Steve Smith playing for Sussex

Not without irony, Jimmy Anderson spoke on Monday of the pivotal role his only foreign player appearance played for Auckland in what became the New Zealand launch of his record-breaking strike partnership with Stuart Broad.

With the Australians, led by Steve Smith, apparently queuing up to use county cricket in preparation for this year’s Ashes, Anderson recalled how then Black Caps player and now England manager Brendon McCullum was “furious” when he did something similar at the start of the 2008 Series here.

It was a solitary appearance in New Zealand domestic cricket that ensured Anderson was ready when, with England trailing 1-0 in a three-match series, Michael Vaughan and Peter Moores decided to move on from the legendary Ashes-winning duo of Steve Harmison and Matthew. Hoggard and turned to the young arms of him.

The rest is history for England, with Anderson in particular making an immediate impact in victory in Wellington in the second Test en route to a 2-1 series victory, and the pair became England’s new-ball pairing. most successful of all time.

Now, 15 years later, they are still going strong and, Cyclone Gabrielle permitting, it looks certain they will take the new pink ball together here at the Bay Oval on Thursday in a day and night first Test for England’s new era under the directed by McCullum and Capt. Ben Stokes. .

James Anderson is preparing for England’s two-game Test series in New Zealand

It was playing in New Zealand that his record partnership with Stuart Broad began.

“Baz actually mentioned that,” Anderson said as England braved heavy rain and strong winds to get some practice under a giant canopy on the picturesque Mount Maunganui course. “He was not happy at the time that I was playing for Auckland. Apparently he and the whole New Zealand team were furious about it.

“I think Otis Gibson (then England bowling manager) knew the Auckland manager at the time and wanted Chris Tremlett to come and play with them. He didn’t want to, so I raised my hand. It turned out to be a very good decision.

“I didn’t set the world on fire for Auckland, but I did bowl a lot of overs (38), got into a good rhythm and was in a good place to play in the second Test.”

So is Anderson, 40, ‘furious’ that Sussex gave Smith three matches in May to warm up for the Ashes? Or does he share the views of Ollie Robinson, who on Sunday said he might benefit more from having Smith as a Hove team-mate than the Australian?

“I don’t care,” Anderson insisted. ‘I don’t think it has anything to do with how many runs Smith makes in the first Test. Some people may not think it’s great that the Aussies have time in between, but they’ll have warm-up games anyway, so I’m not worried.”

What worries the leader in Test history is the batch of pink kookaburra balls that will be used for this Test, as England look to improve on a record that has seen them lose all six Overseas Day and Night Tests.

“The guys here don’t feel like a well-constructed ball,” he said. ‘They’re sticky, they don’t shine, they don’t scratch and you can’t reverse swing. You get seam motion with a relatively pronounced seam, but they feel very different from a red or white ball.

Anderson bowls for England against New Zealand while playing in an ODI match in 2008

Sussex angered England fans by giving Australia’s key batsman Steve Smith playing time

‘I love the red ball and I think this is how Test cricket should be played. I’m old and traditional, I guess. It’s not something you really expect, a day and night game. I don’t know who benefits from them.

“I’m not a big fan, but we don’t seem to have much say in the kind of cricket we play, so we have to show up here this week, regardless of whether it’s a day and night game with a pink ball or whatever. We just have to try to win the game.

Whether that game starts on time remains to be seen. New Zealand’s north island has been badly hit by the cyclone but the Bay of Plenty had avoided the worst, at least until the end of England’s optional training session on Monday.

Much more rain is on the way and the question will be whether a piece of land that locals insist has an excellent drainage system can withstand a deluge that should end on Wednesday. If not and time is lost on day one, then prepare for England to get funky as they try to stick to their mantra of avoiding draws at all costs.

Even a weather-affected three-day game could become highly entertaining the way England play, and New Zealand is likely to match any imaginative approach. His manager, Gary Stead, said: “We’re always trying to play winning cricket and have matches get results, so let’s see how it ends.”